Review: Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro Hard Drive

The Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro Hard Drive is a great option for UAS pilots, and photographers looking to back up and access their files on the go. Western Digital updated the line in 2017 with new firmware features and capacities making the unit a must-have for in the field data backup security.

The My Passport Wireless Pro gives photographers and videographers portable storage to easily offload, edit and stream photos or high-definition videos on the go. Designed to work seamlessly with mobile devices, the case has slots for numerous SD cards built-in, you get an all-in-one drive to streamline your workflow.

For UAS pilots, the ability to quickly land, back up your work, and be in the air again is a revolutionary perk of the My Passport. This allows for more flying time and less hassle of uploading files and storing them.

Quick Specifications of the My Passport Wireless Pro

Capacity: 1-4 TB

Cache memory: 256 MB

USB 3.0

USB 2.0 host port

Built-in SD 3.0 card reader

6,400 mAh battery with up to 10 hours battery life

LED lights for battery, Wi-Fi, and transfer status

Dimensions: 5 x 5 x 0.9″

802.11ac/n wireless

Weight: 1 lb / 0.45 kg

Warranty: 2 years

What comes in the box

Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro Hard Drive Unit

User’s manual

Warranty paperwork

AC adapter

The initial setup was quite easy and straight forward and you can be ready to backup/transfer after a few simple steps. Pairing the My Passport to any device is as simple as downloading the WD My Cloud app on your preferred device and linking the wifi connection through the settings of your device using these quick steps:

Turn the drive on by holding the power button for 2 seconds.

Download the WD My Cloud app on your preferred device.

In the device’s network settings, select My Passport (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz), and enter the provided password for the drive.

Then just follow the on-screen instructions and voila – you’re set to go!

The web interface provides an overview of the drive’s usage and other vitals.

As far as battery life, the unit comes with a 12 W power adapter with a recharging time of about 2 hours and 40 minutes. The battery life provides about 9 hours of use of the device, which gives you the ability to just pop the drive into your bag without the need to carry the charger. More importantly, as mentioned above, the device is easily able to make it through a day of shooting, ingesting cards, and coming home to transfer all the files with ease. The My Passport definitely delivers top-notch performance in this aspect. My Passport even charges devices that are connected to it so you’ll never have to worry about your phone or tablet dying in the field.

The My Passport is packed with useful features. It also comes with a drive lock that prevents USB access to it in the event it’s stolen. The Wi-Fi password feature provides a level of security. We thought the Passports Wi-Fi hub function with support for up to eight devices, was a great feature. Similarly, USB devices connected to the drive’s host port automatically become network shares if connected to Wi-Fi. If the drive is connected via USB, it essentially acts as a card reader. The drive also integrates with most popular cloud services, including Adobe Creative Cloud, meaning you can move files from the drive to the cloud easily, as well as open and edit them on the go.

Pros

Ease of use

Great battery life

Charges external devices

The My Passport delivers amazing performance and comes with great specs to make on-the-go backup simple and easy, but here are a few things to keep in mind for improvement:

Cons

Uncovered ports

USB 2.0 host port limits transfer speed of files from non-SD cards

Can’t view raw files through My Cloud app

Conclusion

Altogether, the My Passport Wireless Pro is an excellent do-it-all option, particularly for traveling photographers and especially for UAS pilots who need to back up their files in the field. The My Passport does a great job of bringing together all the important specs of file-backup into one device that’s fast and easy to use. The My Passport is available for $149 for the 1 TB version and $219 for the 4 TB option. Reasonable prices for such a well-equipped unit!